Started at Topsoe 2000 Education MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bologna, PhD at the University of Stuttgart Personal Roberta is 37 years old and lives with her husband and two sons.

I came to Denmark in 1999 to do a 1-year post-doc at DTU. After this I was ready for a change and looking forward to use my knowledge in "real life". Topsoe held many of attractions for me – the company has a strong reputation for research and it is an international company with many opportunities for multicultural exchange.

My job

I work in Research and Development, where we work to improve the company’s products and develop new technologies. Typically I work on 2-3 projects at a time, supervising experiments and analysing results. My task is to ensure that all the information we gain by research converges and is analysed, so that we make the most of our results.

Towards the unkown

As a researcher, you are exploring unknown areas – we know what we want to find, but not how to get there. That is the challenge, and also what makes my job interesting. My colleagues are an important part of my working day; we share knowledge and discuss our ideas. I really like the feeling that everyone can contribute.

Out and about

As my field is very specialised, it is good to have contacts outside Denmark, and I participate in conferences to gain new knowledge and build up an international network. I would like to travel to some of the plants, Topsoe has built – it would be a good experience to see the problems I work to solve in actual size!


"Denmark is a good place to live with children. The kindergartens and schools have a great approach to learning.”